The four-piece act known as Kinlay has been jamming around the Tokyo pub and club scenes since 2003, performing their melange of rock/funk/reggae with elements of dance, soul and Afrobeat. Influences span from Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix and Guns N’ Roses to Jamiroquai, Alabama Shakes and Skrillex.

“We don’t have a particular political message or theme that goes through all the songs,” says MacKinlay, who also rocks a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Manchester. “We deal with typical themes such as love, sorrow, uncertainty, doubt, anger and fear—but try to . . . [more]